Not Invited to the Party demonstrates how the dominant political parties--the Democrats and Republicans--have co-opted the system to their advantage. James Bennett examines the history and array of laws, regulations, subsidies and programs that benefit the two major parties and discourage even the possibility of a serious challenge to the Democrat-Republican duopoly. The American Founders, as it has been generally forgotten, distrusted political parties. Nowhere in the U.S. Constitution ar...

In the American mind, state subsidization of writers and artists was long associated with monarchies and, in later years, socialist states. The support these regimes gave to intellectuals was understood to come with a cost, yet, beginning with the New Deal's Federal Writers', Art, and Theater Projects, a new policy consensus asserted that by offering financial support to the arts, the federal government was affirming their importance to the nation.Subsidizing Culture examines the developme...

What do drivers' licenses that function as national ID cards, nationwide standardized tests for third graders, the late unlamented 55 mile per hour speed limit, the outlawing of the eighteen-year-old beer drinker, and the disappearing mechanical lever voting machine have in common? Each is the product of an unfunded federal mandate: a concept that politicians of both parties profess to oppose in theory but which in practice they often find irresistible as a means of forcing state and local...

Each month The Dark brings you the best in dark fantasy and horror! Selected by award-winning editor Sean Wallace and published by Prime Books, this issue includes two all-new stories and two reprints:"Some There Be That Shadows Kiss" by James Bennett"Dusk" by Angela Slatter (reprint)"You, the Listener, on a Heavenly Trip" by Françoise Harvey"W is for Whispers" by Steve Rasnic Tem (reprint)

**After being stranded in the remote Alps of Europe, a shipwrecked crew of knights are stalked by both human and monstrous threats in this medieval horror that’s perfect for fans of The Terror and Between Two Fires.There are strange things in the mountains, my lord. Things older and darker than our Christian God. And hungrier.**1192 AD: Jean is a teller of tales meant to bring sense to a world emerging from the darkest of ages steeped in ...

An honest and vulnerable look at the transgender experience, beyond the physicalJames wasn’t always “James”—from his initial struggle as a woman attracted to women to the realization that he was born in the wrong body and was truly transgender, he’s walked a long, arduous path to find peace with his identity. His personal journey has revealed to him the importance of strong support systems, being true to yourself, and educating those that may not understand.

This is a treasure trove of famous and forgotten stories about the greatest teams never to reach the World Cup, brought together for the first time.Spanning from the 1950s to the 21st century, the book explores continental heavyweights who became shock absentees and underdogs who came heartbreakingly close to football's biggest stage. These are remarkable accounts of misfortune shaped by refereeing controversies, last-minute goals and even global politics.I...

Are you tired of feeling anxious in your relationships?Does overthinking sabotage your happiness?Imagine a life free from relationship anxiety, where trust and connection flourish effortlessly.Identify Common Challenges: Dive into the underlying issues causing relationship anxiety, such as insecurities and past hurts that linger.Discover Your Path to Healing: This workbook offers a transformative approach ...

Detective Paige McGraw is waiting for something to go her way for once. After letting a suspect slip through her fingers, her career is now in shambles. Stuck working in the shadow of the brash new homicide inspector on the force, Clarissa Wright, she hopes to redeem herself by catching a good case or bringing her slippery fugitive to heel. When a defrocked priest is found horribly murdered and mutilated, it may be just the right investigation Paige needs to prove she's still a capable cop...

Heralded as "the most significant invention [for film] since the coming of sound" (The Observer 2003), by 2005 DVD players were in approximately 84 million homes in the US, making it the "fastest selling item in history of US consumer electronics market" (McDonald 2007: 135). This book examines the phenomenal growth of DVDs in relation to the cultures, economies, texts, audiences and histories of film, television and new media.Film and Television After DVD brings ...

You played back a recording of yourself and cringed. Every third word is "um," your voice sits on one flat note, and when you get nervous you rush to the end. This audiobook fixes the way you sound in meetings, interviews, and presentations. You'll swap fillers for a two-second pause, hold a steady pace, and lift the words that carry your point. About ninety minutes, and every fix is one you can hear.